Dear Mr. President and Mr. Speaker

December 11, 2012

Dear Mr. President and Mr. Speaker

The following letter is from the undersigned CEOs from 18 member companies of Leading Builders of America who collectively build approximately 30 percent of all new homes in the United States. We write to urge you to continue your efforts to reach an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff.

The housing industry is at the beginning of a cyclical recovery phase. We are beginning to see the industry assume its traditional role as a primary engine of economic recovery and expansion. With the “fiscal cliff” properly avoided, we believe that the housing industry will continue to recover and provide strong economic impetus for a broader economic recovery.

We support a comprehensive agreement in Washington to avoid the fiscal cliff that includes revenue increases (including tax rate adjustments) together with meaningful entitlement reforms. We believe that a properly balanced agreement will breed confidence in the political system and the U.S. economy, will enable the housing market to continue its recovery, and, in turn, will promote broader economic growth.

It is clear that we need a combination of revenue increases, entitlement reforms and economic growth to solidify our nation’s economic health. The balance and proportion of each of these components can and must be negotiated by our elected officials on both sides of the aisle. We believe that taking “no action” or failing to reach an agreement will shake the confidence of American consumers and businesses alike, and may derail the beginning phases of economic recovery.

Additionally, we believe that a bipartisan agreement on the debt limit is also critical to eliminate the recurrent uncertainty that limits economic growth.

We urge all of our elected officials to work cooperatively to avoid the fiscal cliff and to preserve economic stability and growth.